child life education programs

child life internship

At Dayton Children’s, our child life internship offers students an in-depth, 600+ hour learning experience that meets the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) standards for certification eligibility. Interns gain valuable, real-world experience supporting children and families through medical experiences while learning from experienced child life specialists.

child life internship curriculum

Over the course of the 16 week internship, the following is reflective of what the internship typically looks like, but may be subject to change. Clinical experience opportunities vary per term and are determined by supervisor availability and other department needs.

• Week 1 will consist of intern orientation.
• Week 2 – 7 the intern will complete their first rotation.
• Week 8 will be a flex week to give the intern an opportunity to spend time with other child life staff that are not their current supervisor, as well as spend time with other modalities within the hospital. 
• Weeks 9 – 14 the intern will complete their second rotation.
• Weeks 15 – 16 the intern will be provided time to complete projects. These will also be flex week to spend time with other child life staff that are not their current supervisor, as well as spend time with other modalities within the hospital. 

Assignments during the internship include weekly journals, case studies, skills labs, readings, procedure observations and reflections, group activity outline and reflection, individual therapeutic play session outline and reflection, special event observations and reflections, informal assessment worksheets and psychosocial needs assessments.

winter/spring 2026 internship

Please carefully review and submit the required items below by September 5, 2025 to childlife@childrensdayton.org.

• Cover letter, including what interests you about completing an internship specifically at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
• ACLP Child Life Common Internship Application
• Documentation of completed ACLP Eligibility Assessment
• Academic transcripts for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, if applicable.
• Please note: All submitted information should be placed in the order listed above and combined into one PDF document.

To be eligible for review, all items must be submitted in the order and format listed above. Incomplete applications or applications submitted out of order will not be accepted. All applications must be submitted prior to the deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. 

We follow the submission, offer and acceptance dates as set forth by the ACLP. If you have any questions, please contact us at 937-641-3303 or childlife@childrensdayton.org.